Most athletes understand their performance in terms of metrics such as wins and losses, time, distance, weight and the like, while some athletes prefer additional detail. Although a goal may be to improve an athlete improve a specific metric, in some cases there can be intermediate information that could inform them of progress towards their goal. There are also certain sports in which these metrics are not direct reflections of improvement.
Boxing is a sport in which it is helpful to have metrics other than wins and losses to understand a participant's progress. Typically, a boxer's only means of knowing he is getting better is how he feels when he spars, if his coach tells him, or learning the results of his next official fight.
A speedbag apparatus, for example as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 8,371,995 B2 may be used as a device to improve a boxer's hand speed and timing. The device consists of a speedbag that bounces back and forth on a platform when struck. This device is typically used for hand speed timing training.